Even if your child isn’t old enough to have his own smartphone, chances are he’s using yours for games, music, videos, and more. Would you like to have your smartphone back, while still giving your child a chance to engage in the dynamic world of digital education and entertainment? Enter the brand new, exciting MG.

MG is a handheld Android gaming device with nearly all the features your child is already familiar with from your smartphone, minus any voice service or data plan.

The MG features:

built-in WiFi

4-inch touchscreen

front facing camera for pictures and video

headphone jack

4G internal memory, expandable with built-in Micro SD slot

slim pocket design

As an Android device it connects to Google Play, home to thousands upon thousands of apps, many of them free. The MG features a Family Collaboration System, in which you can set up a secure digital wallet to allow your child to purchase paid apps. The Family Collaboration System also includes a weekly email with information on your child’s app purchases, which apps they have been playing, and details on the MG’s average daily use. Makers of the MG call this “Remote Trust” and encourage families to discuss how the MG will be used, offering the Family Collaboration System as a way for parents to “trust but verify.”

My 5 year old son knows the ins and outs of my smartphone probably better than I do. He plays on it all the time, and I can’t tell you how many calls and texts I’ve missed because he’s been cozy in a corner, in the middle of a game or video on my phone. He was the perfect candidate to test out the MG for our family. I have to say: he.loves.it.

We immediately downloaded all of his favorite apps from Google Play – Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, NinJump, and more (all free!) – and the system is so intuitive that we were able to get him set up and playing in no time. The MG is shipped with several apps already pre-loaded on the device, including games from EA, and sites like YouTube, Gmail, and more. I found most of these too “old” for my son and not necessarily age appropriate, but I quickly discovered the setting to disable those apps, including YouTube, and they were immediately removed from the main menu. *Note: these can be added back later to the main screens, so it’s easy to have an older child use the MG, or just let the device grow with your child. I love that flexibility!

Though I appreciate the inclusion of a camera and headphone jack on the MG, the camera’s photo quality is very basic; gaming is definitely the main feature of this device. The display quality is fantastic and the 4-inch screen is a great size. I am most enthusiastic about the ability to expand the device’s memory with the Micro SD slot, and love that the MG ships with a complimentary 8G storage card. You will, however, need to purchase your own headphones and charging cable (standard micro USB charger – we had an extra from another Android device we own), as neither are provided in the shipment of the MG.

Special Pricing and a Facebook Contest:

Right now, you can order the MG from Amazon.com and PlayMG.com at a $20 Savings ($149, discounted from the regular price of $169), with $40 in games, credit and SD Card included — a total of $60 in “Holiday Wish List Pricing Value.”

_OR_

On the MG Facebook Page, upload a picture of your family playing together at the beach, on the slopes, in the backyard, or wherever you get together to have fun. Submit as many photos as you like by November 20, 2012. Get your friends and family to vote for your photos. MG will pick two winners on November 21, 2012. Each winner gets a brand-new MG, the first dedicated portable gaming system exclusively for Android games (retail value: $169).

Win One Now from 5 Minutes for Mom:

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win your own MG Android gaming device. This giveaway is a part of the 5 Minutes for Mom Christmas Giveaway 2012. Please follow the link for more information, as well as for a complete list of all giveaways as they post throughout the month of November. Entries for all giveaways will close Sunday, December 2nd at 7pm CST. Winners will be drawn randomly and we will announce the winners Tuesday, December 4th. We will email winners at the address accompanying the winning comments.

*Disclosure: I received an MG Android gaming device in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Comments

I would love to watch my sons face light up when he opened this present! he has always wanted one, but I have never been able to afford one! This would be a great way to put a special memory on christmas for him this year!

What a wonderful inventive device for people of all ages! Not only do I believe my daughter would love it, but I would too. Great for when just sitting around or car trips of long or short distances. A device that could be shared by all! Thank you for the oppertunity!!!

I was condisering buying this as a gift for my cousin’s 5 year old son and you just convinced me that it will be his best Christmas gift. Thanks for your opinion. Wouldn’t mind winning one too for another friend’s child. Happy Holidays.

This would be great for my son. He has a simple cell phone, because we feel it would be too easy to get distracted at school, but he is always playing with my phone when I pick him up. I would love to win this for him. 🙂 Thank you.

My daughters love to play games on my phone, but we have had two calls to 911 and an unwanted app download, so I’ve had to withhold the phone as an entertainment device. This machine would solve the problem perfectly!

I love that this little guy is designed with families in mind. I love that right out of the box you’re set up to have informed parental control with monitoring reports and such– thank you to the designers for such smart thinking. And these little boys of mine would be in heaven with this, my big boy too. wink. wink. =)

Yes my children would love this. I have always tried to be a great mom and I am thankful that it shows through my children, but now is me time. It’s 5 minutes for mom, so this would be a great gift for myself.

So cool to win expecially with my soon to be kindergardener who insists on playing things like this on peoples phones lol but of course mommy doesnt have a cool phone like that! And with her birthday in jan. it would help present wise being so close to christmas.!

Know this is something that would give this mom 5 minutes alright! I don’t let my daughter play with my phone because she always manages to change the screen, but she always wants to play the games with me and this is a great idea….this just might have to make my wish list this year if I don’t win haha.

Now this would be the greatest for my 9 year old son he has been hounding me for an pnone not to talk but to play games he loves the features on my phone but he keeps my battery dead lo. I would love to have this this would be a great gift for him. My Jordan would very much so apperciate this i will keep my fingers crossed for the both 🙂

I am SO happy I came across your Twitter page. Love your posts! And, hoping to win this for my kids. After my third girl (yep, three of them!) we made the choice to have me stay home with our girls — with actually is cheaper than daycare too, as Oregon has the 3rd highest rates in the states. (Blech!) Being home is awesome as I get to experience so much more than I ever have with my girls before, but it has taken some huge sacrifices — and that means a slim Christmas. Being able to give this to our oldest would be amazing!! Thank you for having this giveaway — and the others. 🙂 Bless you, Leslie

Oh My Gosh! This would totally take care of Christmas for my 10 year old who doesn’t understand why I won’t let him have a cell phone yet!! What a fantastic concept! He would be in heaven with Angry Birds, Cartoon Wars. Thanks for the great giveaway!

I would love to win this for a gift for one of my kids this year things are very tight so it would be soo awsome if I won this! Thanks for the chance and may the person who needs it the most win! God bless everyone!

This is just the kind of thing my son needs. I don’t want to get a DS for him yet because the games are expensive and there aren’t very many good educational ones. But apps… there are lots of those out there for very little money.

The kids would have a blast, I always worry about not having enough memory on my phone, no worries with the MG, I can make this the only device for games. I can put an allowance and not worry about them overspending,
Thank You!